1)Ubuntu Goes to Mir

The X Window System is old, but it works. Many distros including Ubuntu, had been headed toward the use of Wayland as an alternative Linux display technology.

Though apparently Wayland is not good enough for Ubuntu anymore.

"The traction that Ubuntu Touch is creating is great and the team is happy with where this is leading us," Ubuntu Developer, Oliver Ries wrote. "However, in order to implement the vision of converged devices, some changes to our Display Stack are necessary. After thorough research, looking at existing options and weighing in costs & benefits we have decided to roll our own Display Server, Mir."

Mir isn't about space though for Ubuntu, it's about unity and Shuttleworth's vision of TV, phone, tablet, server and desktop convergence.

"We still think that Wayland's attempt at standardizing the communication between clients and the display server component is very sensible and useful, but it didn't fit our requirements and we decided to go for the following architecture w.r.t. to protocol-integration," Ries said.

2) Linus Fights for the User

While Linus Torvalds continued to spew the vitriol for which he is famous, he also very clearly staked his territory, in the name of the user.

"A distro should sign its own modules AND NOTHING ELSE by default," Torvalds wrote. "And it damn well shouldn't allow any other modules to be loaded at all by default, because why the f*ck should it? And what the hell should a microsoft signature have to do with *anything*?"

"Because it really shouldn't be about MS blessings, it should be about the *user* blessing kernel modules," Torvalds added.

3)Linux 3.9

Secure Boot bickering aside, Torvalds also pushed out the first release candidate for Linux 3.9

New features including ARM enhancements as well as even more EXT4 and Btrfs filesystem improvements as well.

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.